Humanization
Throughout the various Transformers canon, there have been several instances of Transformers with humanistic traits and having very human actions that possibly conflict with their status as mechanical robots. Many of these instances can be dismissed as stylistic choices by the artists or as gags not to be taken seriously. Glandular, digestive, and respiratory Coughing * In the G1 episode "Roll for It", when the Autobots emerge from the ruins of a demolished antimatter laboratory, they are coughing. Triple Takeover * Scrapper coughs when Smokescreen surrounds him with smoke. Cosmic Rust * Megatron coughs while infected with Cosmic Rust. Breathing On Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was explained that the android Data's breathing served to cool his inner components, but mostly so that he doesn't appear unnatural to the humans he was designed to resemble. He also blinks for this reason. It could be argued that breathing serves the same "cooling" purpose in Transformers. Crying * A twinkle of light that may not literally be a tear, but is clearly intended to imply one, can be seen in Omega Supreme's eye at the end of "The Secret of Omega Supreme". Eating s in the shape of a happy face.]] * There are references to Cybertronian food. Blushing * In the G1 episode "Sea Change", Seaspray has his whole face turn bright red, even before he jumps into the Well of Transformation and gets turned into a humanoid. Intoxication * In the G1 cartoon episode "Microbots", the Decepticons behaving in a noticeably intoxicated fashion after consuming high-grade energon. Powerglide refers to this as "over-energizing". * In the UK comic, the Wreckers frequent a "bar" on Cybertron called Maccadam's Old Oil House, where they consume high-grade energon, presumably for the purposes of getting intoxicated. Body parts Mouths/teeth/tongues * The Generation 1 cartoon series is the only major piece of fiction to not present Transformers as possessing teeth and/or tongues. Eyeballs/eyelashes * Most Transformers have eyes. They see with them. * In the episode "Auto Berserk", Optimus Prime's eyes are closed (apparently to shield them against the smoke) much like a human's when the Autobots stagger out of the fire and smoke of the Negavator's destruction. * The cyborg GoBots, as portrayed in the animated cartoon, do in fact possess eyelids (when the eyes aren't covered by a visor) and frequently blink. Some also have visible pupils. The Search for Alpha Trion * While dying from life force depletion, Elita One occasionally closes her eyes. Masculine characteristics Facial hair * Alpha Trion, Scourge, Unicron, and Wreck-Gar all sport "facial hair" in the G1 cartoon. The Shattered Glass versions of Alpha Trion and Rodimus Prime also have "facial hair", probably as a homage to Evil Spock's appearance in Star Trek. Feminine characteristics Breasts Some female Transformers, such as Arcee and Elita One have a protruding chest area that bears no apparent relation to their alt mode kibble, but bears some vague resemblance to clothed human breasts, or a "monoboob", if you will. Some females even have two separate and even more distinctly rounded breast-like protuberances, particularly in their fictional depictions. Beta falls into this category. Lips 's got sexy nice lips.]] Another common feature to denote gender in female Transformers is distinctly fuller, plumper lips than is standard, such as the Female Autobots. As far as males go, none of them have differently colored lips, but some do have noticeably thicker lips. Generation 1 Orion Pax, Silverbolt, and Streetwise, for instance, have lips that can easily compete with the females'. Hips Alike to humans, many a female Transformer has a distinctly more curving hip structure. :See also the 'Sexuality' section below. Questionable body parts , we swear!]] * Nearly all Transformers seem to possess noses for no discernible functional reason. BZero assumes they're there to help protect the optics. * At the end of the G1 episode "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide", Powerglide is seen to have the LED outline of a cartoon heart within his chassis. This is somewhat nonsensical even within in the context of the show (the contents of Transformers chest cavities had been shown several times before), and is doubtless merely meant as a one-off sight gag. * Although listed separately above, breasts and "nuts, bolts and screws" would also fit under this category quite well, seeing as there doesn't appear to be any use for them on Transformers, other than to show them off. Other biological functions Sleep * In the G1 comic, Trailbreaker plays a prank on Huffer while he is in "rest mode." Ratchet falls asleep and dreams (or rather, has a nightmare), an experience Prime refers to as an "involuntary systems shutdown". Kup later attempts to rouse a vision-struck Optimus Prime by urging him to "wake up" — then reminds himself that "we don't sleep!" When Donny Finkleberg remarks that unlike machines, humans need to rest, Skids informs him Transformers need to as well to conserve fuel. Skids also has an on/off button in his dashboard. * On the MUX, Transformers can enter a sleep mode to help reboot their systems and allow for internal repairs, but it isn't strictly necessary (just good for maintenance). Aging Some Transformers have been depicted as aging. * Alpha Trion has been depicted in three different eras: 11 million years in the past, 9 million years in the past, and the present day. Though his character model undergoes many changes, his facial hair changes seem to mimic human aging. In his (chronologically) earliest depiction, he has a small black mustache. In his second depiction, his mustache has turned white. By the modern era, he sports a long mustache and beard. * Xaaron couldn't transform anymore because he was old. Sexuality One of the most controversial aspects of Transformers is the idea of sexuality. While it is established in most continuities that Transformers do not reproduce sexually, most continuities nonetheless have distinctive male and female characters and sometimes drops a hint Transformers may engage in (recreational) sex. The Generation 1 cartoon brought the first official female Transformers into the canon, including Elita One and Arcee. The characters are noticeably more feminine in design and some have clearly defined romantic relationships with male Transformers. In contrast, such relations between two individuals of the same gender are virtually unheard of. On the MUX, romantic relationships are allowed and exist, but sex between Transformers is strictly unthemely. Accents See also * Transformer anatomy * Anatomic euphemism * Relatives * Clothing External links * Transformers #94 Letters Page on Transfans.co.uk Category:Transformer anatomy